Sun Temple,

Modhera

The Sun Temple is a Hindu temple

dedicated to the solar deity Surya located
at Modhera village of Mehsana district,
Gujarat, India. It is situated on the bank of
the river Pushpavati. It was built in 1026-
27 AD during the reign of Bhima I of the
Chaulukya dynasty. No worship is offered
now and is protected monument
maintained by Archaeological Survey of
India. The temple complex has three
components: Gudhamandapa, the shrine
hall; Sabhamandapa, the assembly hall and
Kunda, the reservoir. The halls have
intricately carved exterior and pillars. The
reservoir has steps to reach bottom and
numerous small shrines.
 Sun Temple, Modhera

Gudhamandapa, Sabhamandapa and Kunda of

temple

Sun Temple,
Modhera

Location in
Gujarat

Alternative names Modhera Surya Mandir

General information

Status Ruined

Location Modhera, Mehsana

district, Gujarat

Country India
Coordinates 23°35′1.7″N
72°7′57.67″E

Technical details

Material Sand stone

Designations ASI Monument of

National Importance (N-
GJ-158)

Sun Temple, Modhera

 Plan of temple complex: (from top to bottom)
Gudhamandapa, the shrine hall; Sabhamandapa,
the assembly hallCulture
and Kunda, the reservoir

Sanctum Surya

Direction and posture East-facing

Temple tank Suryakund

Tower Ruined

Major festivals Modhera Dance

Festival

Architecture

Architecture Maru-Gurjara
(Chaulukya)

Number of monuments 3

Inscriptions Yes

History

Date built 1026-27

 Creator Bhima I

History
The Sun Temple was built during the reign
of Bhima I of Chaulukya dynasty in 1026-
1027 (Vikram Samvat 1083).[A][1][2][3][4]
Earlier, during 1024-25, Mahmud of Ghazni
had invaded Bhima's kingdom, and a force
of around 20,000 soldiers had
unsuccessfully tried to check his advance
at Modhera. Historian A. K. Majumdar
theorizes that the Sun Temple might have
been built to commemorate this
defence.[5]
The temple is built on 23.6° latitude
(approximately near Tropic of
Cancer).[B][7][8][9][10] The place was later
known as Sita ni Chauri and Ramkund
locally.[C][11] No worship is offered here
now.[3] The temple is Monument of
National Importance and is maintained by
Archeological Survey of India.

Architecture
The temple complex is built in Maru-
Gurjara style (Chaulukya style). The temple
complex has three axially aligned
components; the shrine proper
(garbhagriha) in a hall (gudhamandapa),
the outer or assembly hall (sabhamandapa
or rangamandapa) and a sacred reservoir
(kunda).[1][12]

The sabhamandapa is not in continuation

with gudhamandapa but is placed little
away as a separate structure. Both are
built on paved platform.[1] Their roofs have
collapsed long ago leaving behind few
lower-most courses. Both roofs are 15' 9"
in diameter but are constructed
differently.[13] The platform or plinth is
inverted lotus shaped.

Gudhamandapa and
garbhagriha
Gudhamandapa

The Gudhamandapa measures 51 feet 9

inches by 25 feet 8 inches. It is almost
equally divided into Gudhamandapa, the
hall and garbhgriha, the shrine proper. Both
are rectangular in plan with one projection
on each of the smaller sides and two
projections on each of the longer sides.
This projections on the smaller sides form
the entrance and the back of shrine. The
three projections of outer wall of
Gudhamandapa had windows on each side
and the east projection had the doorway.
These windows had perforated stone
screens; the northern is in ruins and the
southern is missing. Pradakshinamarga is
formed by the passage between the walls
of garbhgriha and the outer walls of
gudhamandapa. The roof of passage has
stones slabs carved with rosettes. The
Shikhara of the it no longer exists.[1]

Garbhagriha

The Garbhagriha, the shrine proper or

sanctum sanctorum is square measuring
11 feet from inside.[1]
The shrine had two cells; a cell below the
level of upper cell. The floor of upper cell
is now fallen which once housed the
image of deity. The seat of image is now in
pit. The lower cell was probably used for
storage.[1]

The walls inside shrine is plain and outer

wall is decorated. The doorway has carved
figures of seated Surya in panels
surrounded by dancers and amorous
couples. All figures are mutilated and the
images on the door-lintel is completely
destroyed.[D][1]
The sanctum sanctorum is designed in a
way that the first rays of rising sun lit up
the image of Surya during solar equinox
days[12][3][14][9] and on summer solstice
day, the sun shines directly above the
temple at noon casting no shadow.[7]

Gudhamandapa

Gudhamandapa with annotation of exterior mouldings

(click to enlarge)

Base mouldings

The outer walls of shrine is highly

decorated.[1] The base and walls of the
shrine and hall are divided into several
stretches with unique carvings. the pitha
or adhisthana, base has the two square
members called bhat followed by a
cymarecta carving (lower part convex and
upper part concave). It is followed by
padma or padmaka, the moulding in form
of inverted lotus. The next is antarita, a
fillet or an astragal with a sharp edge
between two recesses. Above this is patta
having thin moulding called chhaja at its
lower edge. The next is another chhaja
separated by neck, alinga. The next broad
band, patti, is gajathara carved with
elephants. The following band narathara
has figures of men in different attitudes.[1]

Mandovara or wall mouldings

Mandovara, the wall mouldings starts with

kumbha, a pitcher. It has a broad
undecorated band at lower part while
middle part is decorated with oval discs. It
is followed by kalasha, a pitcher. The next
is broad band with chaitya-windows called
kevala followed by similar called manchi.
These two bands are separated by a deep
band. There is a thin fillet above which the
major paneled face of wall called jangha
exist. This panels are decorated with
figures of gods but the figures of Surya are
placed prominently than others as the
temple is dedicated to him. Other panels
are decorated with dancers and other
figures.[1]

The figures of Surya are prominently

carved on three niches of shrine proper as
well as on the each side of three windows
in the outer wall of Gudhamandapa. The
figures of Surya is in standing position
with two arms holding lotuses and driven
by seven horses.[1] It has some Persian
influences.[3] The walls have 12 niches
showing the different aspects of Surya in
each month. Other figures include eight
Dikpals, Vishwakarma, Varuna, Agni,
Ganesha, Saraswati.

Every figure in panel has a small cornice

over it surmounted with triangular
pediment consisting of chaitya-window
which is called udgam. The next projecting
band with chaitya-window and kirtimukha
is called malakval. The top most is the
major cornice called chhajli.[1]

This is followed by shikhara which no

longer exist.[1] The Vimana had horizontal
geometrical and figurative bands which
rising to create the Mount Meru-like
shikhara. The central spire had Urushringa,
the miniature shrines. It is judged by the
shrines on the steps of Kunda.[3]

Mandapa

The Mandapa, a hall was roofed by a dome

which probably rose in concentric manner.
It is supported by eight principal pillars
below arranged in an octagon, four pillars
in front of shrine proper and two each in
the recesses of windows and door.[1]

Sabhamandapa
Sabhamandapa with annotation of exterior mouldings
(click to enlarge)

Sabhamandapa with ornately carved pillars and

exterior
ceiling of Sabhamandapa

Sabhamandapa or Rangamandapa, the

assembly hall or dancing hall is
parallelogram in plan with rows of pillars
opening entrance on each side diagonally.
The extensively carved exterior has series
of recessed corners giving impression of
the star like plan of it.[1] There are 52
intricately carved pillars. Madhusudan
Dhaky has suggested that the
sabhamandapa may has been later
addition based on style and
construction.[13]

Base mouldings

The pitha is almost similar to the

Gudhamandapa but smaller as two
courses of fillets are omitted. The padma
is carved richly here with floral
ornamentation.[1]

Wall mouldings

Above the Narathara, there is a band with

figures of dancers and gods known as
rajasena. The next is vedi which
correspond to jangha of mandovara
decorated with large panels of gods,
goddesses and floral designs. The next is
cornice called asinot. It followed by
kakshasana which slopes outwards and
forms the back-rests of the bench, asana
which runs round the hall. There are erotic
figures on it interrupted by rail-patterns.[1]

Ceiling and torana

The roof was in shape of stepped pyramid

but it no longer exists. Inside, the walnut-
shaped ceiling rises in tiers which has
numerous floral girdles. It is 23 feet high.[3]
It is supported by pillars arranged in an
octagon. These pillars have stilts which
supports the lintels. Torana or the
decorated cusped arches arise from the
lower brackets of the pillars and touch the
lintels in middle. There are two types;
semicircular and triangular. The
semicircular arches has cusped arches
with tips while triangular arches has round
apex and wavy sides. Both types has
broad band decorated with figures and tips
which are now defaced and damaged. The
lower brackets has makara which gives the
name of makara-torana while decoration
gives name of chitra-torana.[1]

Pillars
Long and short pillars, semicircular and triangular
arches

Pillars of Kirti-torana and steps leading to kunda

The pillars of Sabhamandapa and

Gudhamandapa are of two types; short and
tall. The short pillars rests on walls and
supports the roof. The tall pillars rise from
the floor.[1]

Short pillars

The shaft is square in shape till half of its

height followed by vase and then followed
by octagonal shaft. It is surmounted by a
capital and a bracket. The square part has
floral design in circle on each side of
faces. The vase is decorated similarly on
its corners. The octagonal part have four
bands; the top most has kirtimukha. The
capital has three annulets.[1]

Tall pillars
They arise from square or octagonal base,
kumbhi, with triangular ornamentation on
each face. Above it is kalasha. It is
followed by a deep band and the next is
kevala decorated with chaitya-windows.
the next is kirtimukha. The next is
triangular pediment with chaitya-
windows.[1]

The next is beginning of shaft. It is first

decorated with standing figures, mostly
dancers, on all eight faces enclosed in
ringed pilasters. The next band with
scenes of men and beasts is separated
from it by round pillow-like band. It is
followed by still smaller band with sixteen
standing human figures separated by
small annultet below. The next is band of
leaves. Then the shaft becomes circular
and had three or four bands having row of
male warriors, lozenges, circles and
kirtimukha at last. The kirtimukhas are
separated by chain and bell
ornamentation.[1]

It follows capital similar to small pillars

crowned with makara brackets if eight
stilted pillar and dwarfs in the rests. the
eight stilted pillars have one more shaft
and similar type of capital which is
crowned with brackets of volutes and
pendant leaves.[1]
Iconography

The panels on the Gudhamandapa is

decorated with Surya centrally which
indicates that the temple is dedicated to
Surya. These images wears peculiar West
Asian (Persian) boots and belt.[9][3] The
other corners and niches are decorated
with figures of Shiva and Vishnu in various
forms, Brahma, Nāga and goddesses. The
depicted scenes on small flat ceilings and
lintels of sabhamandapa are from epics
like Ramayana.[1]

Kirti-torana
There was a kirti-torana, the triumphant
arch, in front of sabhamandapa. The
pediment and torana no longer exists but
two pillars remains. The moulding and
decoration is similar to that of walls of
sabhamandapa and pillars.[1] There were
two more kirti-torana on each side of the
kunda of which only one exists without
upper part.

Kunda
 Panoramic view of the Kunda

Kunda, a tank or reservoir is known as

Ramakunda or Suryakunda. The flight of
steps through kirti-torana leads to the
reservoir. It is rectangular. It measures 176
feet from north to south and 120 feet from
east to west. It is paved with stones all
around. There are four terraces and
recessed steps to descend to reach the
bottom of the tank. The main entrance lies
on west. There are steps to reach from
one terrace to another on right angle to
terrace. These steps are rectangular or
square except the first step of each flight
of steps which is semicircular. Several
miniature shrines and niches in front of
terrace-wall have images of gods including
many Vaishnavite deities and goddesses
such as Shitala.[15][1][9][3]

Stepwell

The stepwell on the west of Kunda has one

entrance and two pavilion-towers. It is
moderately ornamented. The door-frame
has lotus and leaves and the ruchaka type
pilasters indicate it belongs to 11th
century. The small mandapa above the
ground level and located on the second
kuta of stepwell may belong to 10th
century.[16]

Modhera dance festival

Kathak danseuse Namrrta Raai at Modhera Dance

Festival

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat

organises an annual three-day dance
festival known as 'Uttarardha Mahotsav' at
the temple during the third week of
January, following the festival of
Uttarayan. The objective is to present
classical dance forms in an atmosphere
similar to that in which they were originally
presented.[3]

Location
It is located in Modhera village which is
25 km from Mehsana and 106 km from
Ahmedabad in Gujarat India.[17]

Gallery
 A sanctuary on the Surya Kund.

Massive pillars leading to the stepped tank

outside the temple.
 Two pillars standing alone near the
temple.

This is one of many sculptures present at

the temple.
 Reliefs on Guda Mandap.

See also
Becharaji
Patan, Gujarat

Notes and references

Notes

A. The date is based on an inscription on a

stone slab in the back wall of shrine which
reads upside down. The decoration of
torana and columns resembles that of
Vimala Vasahi Adinath temple of Dilwara
Temples built in 1031-32 which confirms its
period.
B. The Tropic of Cancer position is not fixed,
but varies in a complicated manner over
time. It drifts south almost half an
arcsecond (0.47″) of latitude per year (it
was at exactly 23° 27′ in year 1917 and will
be at 23° 26' in 2045).[6] See axial tilt and
circles of latitude for further information.
C. In 1887, Alexander Kinloch Forbes
described in his book Rasmala that the
place was known by locals as Sita ni Chauri
and Ramkund associated with Rama and
Sita of Ramayana.[11]
D. It may have had Ganesha as in other
Surya or Vishnu temples.

References

1. Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia (1941). The

Archaeology of Gujarat: Including
Kathiawar . Natwarlal & Company. pp. 70,
84–91. Archived from the original on 2015.
2. "Sun-Temple at Modhera (Gujarat)" .
Retrieved 9 April 2016.
3. Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian
Encyclopaedia: Meya-National Congress .
Cosmo Publications. pp. 4871–4872.
ISBN 978-81-7755-273-7.
4. Sastri, Hirananda (November 1936).
Annual Report of the Director of
Archaeology, Baroda State, 1934-35 .
Baroda: Oriental Research Institute. pp. 8–
9.
5. Asoke Kumar Majumdar (1956).
Chaulukyas of Gujarat . Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan. p. 45. OCLC 4413150 .
6. Montana State University: Milankovitch
Cycles & Glaciation Archived 6 August
2011 at the Wayback Machine.
7. Arvind Bhatnagar; William Livingston (7
April 2005). Fundamentals of Solar
Astronomy . World Scientific. pp. 28–29.
ISBN 978-981-4486-91-0.
8. Brajesh Kumar (2003). Pilgrimage
Centres of India . Diamond Pocket Books
(P) Ltd. p. 163. ISBN 978-81-7182-185-3.
9. Rajiv Rastogi; Sanjiv Rastogi (1 January
2009). Surya Namaskar . Prabhat
Prakashan. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-81-8430-
027-7.
10. S. B. Bhattacherje (1 May 2009).
Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates .
Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. A24.
ISBN 978-81-207-4074-7.
11. Wibke Lobo (1982). The Sun Temple at
Modhera: A Monograph on Architecture and
Iconography . C.H. Beck. p. 2. ISBN 978-3-
406-08732-5.
12. Ward (1 January 1998). Gujarat–
Daman–Diu: A Travel Guide . Orient
Longman Limited. pp. 153–155. ISBN 978-
81-250-1383-9.
13. Dhaky, M. A. (1963). "The Date of The
Dancing Hall of The Sun Temple, Modhera" .
Journal of Asiatic Society of Bombay.
Asiatic Society of Bombay. 38: 211–222.
Retrieved 31 December 2016.
14. "21st March brings special sunrise to
Modhera Sun temple(Video)" . DeshGujarat.
25 March 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
15. Fabrizio M. Ferrari (20 November 2014).
Religion, Devotion and Medicine in North
India: The Healing Power of Sitala .
Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-
4725-9871-4.
16. Jutta Jain-Neubauer (1 January 1981).
The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical
Perspective . Abhinav Publications. p. 20.
ISBN 978-0-391-02284-3.
17. "Modhera Sun Temple" . Retrieved
9 April 2016.

Further reading
Wibke Lobo (1982). The Sun Temple at
Modhera: A Monograph on Architecture
and Iconography (Forschungen zur
allgemeinen und vergleichenden
Archäologie) . C.H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-
406-08732-5.
Surya: The God and His Abode, Parijat,
2010, ISBN 81-903561-7-8
Burgess, Jas & Cousens, Henry, The
Architectural Antiquities of Northern
Gujarat, Bharatiya Publishing House,
Varanasi, 1975
Brown Percy, Indian Architecture
(Buddhist and Hindu Periods), D.B.
Taraporewala Sons & Co. Ltd. Bombay,
1975
Sankalia, Hasmukh. D., The Archaeology
of Gujarat (Including Katiawar),
 Natwarlal & Co. Publishers, Bombay,
1941
Majumdar, Ashok Kumar, Chaulukyas of
Gujarat, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, 1956.

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